Tributes paid to retiring Walton and Frinton lifeboat member

Rick Farrance, second coxswain of the Walton and Frinton lifeboat station made the announcement on Monday, February 28.

He joined the station in the late 1980s as a shore helper and progressed through the ranks as launcher, crew and since 2015, second coxswain.

Over that time the station launched 795 times, saving 81 lives and assisting 965 other people.

Rick also witnessed the transition from older lifeboats that had a maximum speed of just eight knots to the modern vessels capable of more than 27 knots.

He recently took the station's Tamar class boat Irene Muriel Rees to sea for a final exercise.

Rick Farrance in the late 1980s with the lifeboat and mooring facilities

Along with colleagues from Clacton RNLI who had come to wish him farewell, he and the crew responded to an urgency call from a yacht taking on water just off Walton Pier.

Luckily, the three people on the vessel were able to make their own way into Harwich harbour once the situation had been stabilised.

To thank Rick the station also organised a party for him and his family, at which he was presented with gifts from both the RNLI and the crew.

He was also presented with a special certificate detailing his 33 years of service.

Speaking at the event, which was attended by crew past and present from Clacton and Harwich RNLI as well as his colleagues from Walton and Frinton, Rick thanked his family as well as the team for their support over the years.